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Do you want to save yourself, Savage!

Do you want to save yourself, Savage!
(Veux-tu te sauver, Sauvage!)
(1841)
from the Le carnaval á Paris (the Paris Carnival) series, first published in La Caricature, 1841

Medium
lithograph

Measurements
19.9 × 15.6 cm (image) 24.4 × 18.4 cm (sheet)

Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1930

Gallery location
18th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International

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About this work

While masked balls were initially an elite affair, by the 1830s they were attracting revellers from all walks of life. From midnight to dawn, social hierarchies vanished in the whirlwind of costumes and dances. A carnival costume could disguise anyone, from a cobbler to a wealthy dandy, and many young women hoped to make a fortunate acquaintance. Indeed, one contemporary journalist overheard a woman tell a man who claimed to be a broker, ‘For us, a masked ball is our stock exchange.’

Artwork Details

Place/s of Execution
Paris, France

Catalogue/s Raisonné
Armelhault and Bocher 256 XVII. II

Printing/Publishing
printed by Aubert & Cie, Paris, France

Inscription
printed in ink (in image) l.l.: 41-9. (reversed)
printed in ink (in image) l.r.: Par Gavarni
printed in ink u.r.: 17.
printed in ink l.c.: Veux-tu te sauver, Sauvage!
printed in ink l.r.: Imp. d'Aubert & Cie

Accession Number
4361-3

Departments
International Prints / International Prints and Drawings

This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest